Defendants get 'L&O' day in court, sort of

When the deep-as-a-cellar, serious-as-a-heart-attack voice that introduces every "Law & Order" drama intones the tag line for the latest one, prepare for a shock.

"In the criminal justice system," the voice announces off camera, "the most important right is a trial by jury."

So the defendant, that bottom-feeding lowlife, has rights? And they're important? Who knew?

You could watch almost any episode of producer-creator Dick Wolf's "Law & Order," "L&O: Special Victims Unit" and "L&O: Criminal Intent" and come away with the impression that the stinkin' defendants don't need no stinkin' rights.

After all, they're guilty, aren't they? Why else would the criminal justice system, as personified by such stand-up guys and gals as Briscoe, Green, Benson, Stabler, Goren, Eames et al., be after their sorry hides?

Well, "L&O" aficionados, relax. "Trial by Jury" does acknowledge that defendants deserve to be tried by a jury of their peers, but that doesn't mean they're not bottom feeders all the same.

It also doesn't mean that Wolf's newest heroes, prosecutors and their associates all, are any less loyal, brave, clean, reverent or obsessed with vengeance than the old ones.

The bravest and most obsessed of the new bunch is Asst. District Attorney Tracey Kibre (Bebe Neuwirth, "Cheers"), who is tersely described by a colleague, Det. Hector Salazar (Kirk Acevedo, "Oz"), as "tough, smart, hates to lose."

So dedicated is Tracey to the pursuit of lowlifes that she doesn't even have time for Botox.

Kibre's protege, A.D.A. Kelly Gaffney (Amy Carlson, "Third Watch"), to her mentor: "You look worried."

Kibre to Gaffney, proudly: "I'm always worried."

In the episode NBC will air Thursday before the show settles into its regular 9 p.m. Friday slot the following night, Kibre is worried about a very rich, very smarmy Broadway producer, Kurt Lascher (played with a twirl of the invisible mustache by Hollywood producer Tony Bill), who has clearly killed an inconveniently pregnant girlfriend but has failed to leave any evidence lying about, not even a body.

Heinous though he may be, Lascher does at least get a better class of defender than the usual "L&O" defendant: wily Maggie Dettweiler (Annabella Sciorra). He gets a pretty fancy judge, too: one Amanda Anderlee, tartly played in what will be a recurring role by Candice Bergen.

Despite the series' name, the jury-room scenes are brief, at least in the three episodes available for screening. They do, though, benefit from the usual "L&O" Manhattan setting, which allows the producers to tap skilled stage actors for even small roles.

In a slightly larger one, as a living ex-girlfriend of Lascher's, the pilot also boasts Broadway star Cady Huffman ("The Producers") in a juicy turn that's like a Godiva chocolate in a bag of M&Ms.

Then again, it's hard to fault the M&Ms. Neuwirth, Acevedo, Carlson and Fred Thompson, who does double duty on the original "Law & Order" and "Trial by Jury" as drawlin', brawlin' New York District Attorney Arthur Branch, are effortless professionals who deliver their smart, cynical dialogue with flair.

So, of course, was the late Jerry Orbach, who completed just two episodes of the new series as Det. Lennie Briscoe, a transfer from the first "L&O," before dying in December 2004. According to published reports, Briscoe's departure will be addressed in a future episode.

In the meantime, enjoy Orbach, along with such future guest defenders as Peter Coyote and Lorraine Bracco. The attorneys who oppose Kibre and her crew may not win many cases, but you'll have fun watching them try.

Short takes

* Once you get past the imitation-cheese-food quality of the dramatizations, the new weekly series "Breaking Vegas" (8 & 9 p.m. Tuesday, History Channel) is an entertaining, often surprising hour on how various big-time cheats have bilked the casinos.

The first of this week's back-to-back premieres is on an enterprising young charmer who recruited some like-minded friends into a lucrative gambling ring, the second on an insider who reprogrammed a casino's slot machines to pay off for him. After this double play, the series will air in its regular slot, 8 p.m. Tuesdays.

If the title sounds familiar, it's because the series is a spinoff of a two-hour special that premiered last year. The History Channel will repeat the original "Breaking Vegas," about some MIT math wizards who hit on a lucrative scheme to cheat at blackjack, at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday.

* "Nashville Star" (9 p.m. Tuesday, repeated 11 p.m., USA), country's answer to "American Idol," launches a third season with new host LeAnn Rimes and judges Phil Vassar, Poison's Bret Michaels and industry biggie Anastasia Brown.

With 10 preselected finalists doing their thing in this week's opener, the first of nine weekly episodes, the pace is a lot brisker than "Idol's." It's also hard to imagine Simon, Randy or even Paula gushing, as Brown does at one young hopeful, "I'd carry your guitar and shine your boots!"

* "On Stage at the Kennedy Center: The Mark Twain Prize" (8 p.m. Wednesday, Milwaukee's Channel 10 and other PBS stations) honors "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels in a 90-minute special that -- especially after last week's terrific "SNL" special on NBC - - is often disappointingly staid, despite such bright moments as clips from the screen tests of Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin and John Belushi.

Among those offering tributes in this annual humor award ceremony are Dan Aykroyd, Tina Fey, Candice Bergen, Tim Meadows, Conan O'Brien and those always-ready-for-prime-time U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.).

* The name is gimmicky, but everything else about "reDesign" (7:30 p.m. Thursday, repeated 11:30 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, HGTV) is simple, straightforward and even elegant.

Boyish design maven Kenneth Brown transforms rooms by combining high-end new materials -- no clocks made out of paint cans for this guy -- with his clients' favorite possessions. Brown is good to look at, and so are the travertine marble, teak paneling, etc., in this new weekly half-hour.

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E-mail: jweintraub@journalsentinel.com.

WHEN TO WATCH

What: "Law & Order: Trial by Jury"

When: 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday

Where: NBC

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